
6. Learning from others
Mark Haselgrove
in Learning: A Very Short Introduction
Many species, including humans, are quite sociable and live in groups so it is important to incorporate into our understanding of learning how social learning takes place and what sorts of ...
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5. Learning and remembering, reading and number
Usha Goswami
in Child Psychology: A Very Short Introduction
‘Learning and remembering, reading and number’ considers children’s developing knowledge of their own cognition (meta-cognition) as they start education. How is memory developed? Children ...
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2. What is learned during learning?
Mark Haselgrove
in Learning: A Very Short Introduction
Throughout the study of learning, psychologists have concerned themselves with two key questions. ‘What is learned during learning?’ considers the first. It introduces the content of ...
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3. The surprising thing about learning
Mark Haselgrove
in Learning: A Very Short Introduction
‘The surprising thing about learning’ considers the second key question about learning: what is the nature of the mechanism that allows learning to take place? It first looks at the ...
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7. Surely there is more to learning than that?
Mark Haselgrove
in Learning: A Very Short Introduction
Is there more to learning than simple association? Some psychologists believe there are two systems, referred to by Daniel Kahneman as ‘thinking fast’ and ‘thinking slow’. ‘Surely there is ...
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9. Dreaming, learning, and memory
J. Allan Hobson
in Dreaming: A Very Short Introduction
‘Dreaming, learning, and memory’ considers the work of Robert Stickgold and the popular theory that brain activation in sleep is necessary for us to reorder the information inside our ...
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4. Learning and animal culture
Tristram D. Wyatt
in Animal Behaviour: A Very Short Introduction
Learning is an animal’s capacity to change behaviour, as the result of individual experience, so that it is better adapted to the animal’s physical and social environments. Learning helps ...
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2. Learning about the outside world
Usha Goswami
in Child Psychology: A Very Short Introduction
‘Learning about the outside world’ looks at the nature versus nurture debate and asks: how do infants and toddlers learn about their world? Babies learn a vast amount from observation. ...
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3. What stays in the mind? Learning and memory
Gillian Butler and McManus Freda
in Psychology: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
What is memory? Psychologists' discoveries about learning and memory demonstrate that what is stored in the mind cannot be adequately understood using the analogy of a repository. ‘What ...
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Learning: A Very Short Introduction
Mark Haselgrove
What is learning? How does it take place? What happens when it goes wrong? The topic of learning has been central to the development of the science of psychology since its inception. ...
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8. Sleep and society
Steven W. Lockley and Russell G. Foster
in Sleep: A Very Short Introduction
Society affects sleep and sleep affects society, influencing childhood learning and development, workplace safety and efficiency, and the economy. Society's attitude to sleep affects how ...
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7. Checking
Richard Passingham
in Cognitive Neuroscience: A Very Short Introduction
Having made a decision, we need to check that we carry it out as intended. In other words we need to monitor our own behaviour. ‘Checking’ considers the following questions: How does being ...
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1. The autism spectrum
Uta Frith
in Autism: A Very Short Introduction
‘The autism spectrum’ examines three individuals from different parts of the autism spectrum. It explains how all of the ‘autisms’ originate from before birth, and all affect the developing ...
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3. The —omics revolution
Eberhard O. Voit
in Systems Biology: A Very Short Introduction
In the past, experiments were time consuming and expensive, and data were therefore often scarce. The so-called —omics revolution has changed this situation to a point where we often have ...
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Child Psychology: A Very Short Introduction
Usha Goswami
Child Psychology: A Very Short Introduction examines modern child psychology, tracing its development from birth up until early adolescence. Child Psychology studies the ...
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5. Signals for survival
Tristram D. Wyatt
in Animal Behaviour: A Very Short Introduction
Animals communicate in numerous ways. Usually, when animals communicate, the receiver of the communication responds by changing its behaviour. Communication can use any one or more of the ...
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8. Applying behaviour
Tristram D. Wyatt
in Animal Behaviour: A Very Short Introduction
Our behaviour as humans has profound effects on the lives of other animals. ‘Applying behaviour’ explores some of the ways that we can use an understanding of animal behaviour to reduce our ...
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4. Obedience, oppression, and aggression
Richard J. Crisp
in Social Psychology: A Very Short Introduction
‘Obedience, oppression, and aggression’ considers when social influence turns bad—how obedience to authority can compel normal people to behave in bad ways. It then looks at social ...
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5. Phobias
Daniel Freeman and Jason Freeman
in Anxiety: A Very Short Introduction
‘phobias’ opens with a precise definition as defined by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) to distinguish phobias from fear. ...
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1. Beginnings
Gary Thomas
in Education: A Very Short Introduction
Education comes naturally to us. The clever part of our ability to crystallize and store knowledge is that we can share it, build on it, and pass it on. ‘Beginnings’ defines education, ...
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